The present invention is directed, in general, to electronic devices and, more specifically, to a header containing a semiconductor die, method of manufacture thereof and electronic device employing the same.
Most contemporary electronic devices are assembled on a substrate (interchangeably referred to as printed wiring or circuit board). The electronic devices generally have a plurality of components mounted on the substrate that, in cooperation with one another, combine to make up an electronic circuit. In order to provide electrical connectivity between the components, the substrate will include multiple conductive traces that are etched in or printed on the substrate. While in some cases the electronic devices include a single electronic circuit formed on a single substrate, in most cases electronic devices include a number of electronic circuits, each formed on a separate substrate.
Regardless of the design of the electronic device, the electronic circuits include input and output connections employable to transmit signals therethrough. Less complex devices, such as portable radios, may have as few as two input connections (power and antenna) and a single output (the speaker), all of which may be hard-wired. In the case of more complex equipment, a number of signals may be transmitted through headers with a number of different paths for the input and output signals. In addition to transmitting signals through the headers, the signals frequently must be modified or conditioned for use by a companion circuit coupled thereto. For example, the output signal from one electronic circuit may have to undergo a frequency or phase adjustment to be employed by a recipient electronic circuit.
As the complexity of the electronic device is augmented, the number of conditioned signals transmitted between electronic circuits increases. As an example, power supply circuits employed to power the electronic devices are typically designed in a subassembly that incorporates a modular design. In many such subassemblies, the components of the power supply are distributed between two circuit boards. One circuit board includes the power train circuit and the other circuit board includes the control circuit of the power supply. In this type of configuration, the power supply has many (e.g., as many as fourteen) different features or functions that must be coordinated between the power train and the control circuit. In addition to the internal coordination of signals within the power supply itself, the power supply signals must be delivered in an integrated manner to the respective circuits of the electronic device that the power supply is powering.
A conventional method used to pass signals from one circuit board to another is a dual in-line surface mounted header. Because all the header does is provide a conduit to pass the signals, the signals must be conditioned to be useable by the recipient board, either before it is transmitted or after it is received. This means that a circuit board will have a number of components used for the sole purpose of conditioning signals being transferred from one circuit board to another. The additional components necessary to accomplish the task increase the component density and the size of the circuit boards as well as the electronic circuit complexity. Any reduction in the number of components located on the circuit board to fulfill a particular task means a corresponding reduction in the cost of manufacturing, from both a component cost and assembly cost viewpoint. Thus, it is a continuing goal of design and application engineers to reduce the total number of components required on a circuit board. In order to do this, every effort should be made to combine the functionality of multiple circuits into a fewer number of electronic circuits, whenever possible.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an electronic device that employs a header to perform the traditional conduit functionality, but, at the same time, is adapted to process signals passing therethrough.
To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a header containing a semiconductor die, method of manufacture thereof and electronic device employing the same. In one embodiment, the header includes first and second contacts, and an intermediate body. The intermediate body includes an insulated section interposed between the first and second contacts and has a cavity therein. The intermediate body also includes a semiconductor die, located within the cavity, adapted to condition a signal passing through at least a portion of the header.
The present invention introduces, in one aspect, a header having a semiconductor die located within its body that conditions a signal passing through the header. This contrasts with prior art headers that only serve as simple interfaces to pass a signal from, for instance, a first electronic circuit located on a first substrate (or printed wiring board) to a second electronic circuit located on a second substrate. Because a signal from the first electronic circuit must frequently be conditioned (e.g., filtered, scaled) before it is used by the second electronic circuit, the present invention advantageously provides a semiconductor die embedded in the header to perform such functionality. For example, the output signal of the first electronic circuit may require synchronization before the signal can be used by the second electronic circuit. The present invention permits such synchronization to be performed via the header, by itself.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the header has a plurality of semiconductor dies located within the cavity. This is particularly advantageous because a number of signals can be conditioned as they pass through the header. In such instances, the intermediate body preferably includes a plurality of insulated sections to accommodate the corresponding plurality of semiconductor dies. Of course, any number of semiconductor dies may be incorporated into the header as an application dictates.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the semiconductor die is flip-chip mounted in the cavity in the insulated section of the intermediate body. In a related embodiment, the semiconductor die is die-attached and wire-bonded in the cavity. Any mechanism may be employed to mount the semiconductor die within the cavity.
In another embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first or second contacts is a spring loaded header. In a related embodiment, at least one of the first or second contacts has a surface mount pad. Additionally, it may be particularly advantageous to include a plurality of first and second contacts to, for instance, accommodate a number of different signals. In view thereof, the header of the present invention may include a plurality of first and second contacts.
The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, preferred and alternative features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.